VILLA W1 2008 -

The brief required the design of an exclusive holiday villa with extensive facilities for entertaining and hosting of guests, including a spa, gym, lap pool, on the island of Corfu. The site is located on a south facing slope shaped by rock formations and lush vegetation, with direct access to four private beaches and stunning vistas towards the old town of Corfu.

The architectural response negotiates the 16m topographic fall within the build-able area through a striation of its verticality by providing four horizontal inhabitable levels. The experience of the house is part of a decent and a sequential discovery of the landscape and the view. At an arrival deck on the third level one is immediately confronted with the spectacular view. To the left stands the two storey guest house, to the right, a generous staircase -perpendicularly to the view- leading to the main living platform. On the second level, the interior blends with the exterior, the natural with the built, the shaded areas with the exposed, the intimate smaller scale with the larger public scale, the domestic with the recreational and leisure. Another, internal staircase leads to the private first level with its three retreat areas and an external one, continues the decent to the beach via a gym and private sunbathing area.